Page 2 of Bratva Daddies for the Single Mom

No auction, no money. No money, no apartment or car. No car, no job. No job, no way to pay for my daughters’ food, clothes, or a roof over our heads.

I had no choice.

“You’re next.” The pin-striped woman pulled me from the line. “Chin up. Smile. The lights are bright. Try not to stare at them or you’ll get dizzy. You can walk across the stage as much as you want, but do not leave until you’re directed to. You won’t be coming back to this side.” Her smile was soft and genuine, which comforted me more than it should.

I followed her to the edge of the curtain. With a deep breath and a forceful shoving down of my nerves, I dredged up every bit of confidence I’d ever possessed and wrapped it around me like a protective cloak. No one knew me. I was no longer Annie McIntosh. I was no one, a phantom of beauty and imagination. I was a goddess preparing to be lavished with sexual desires.

The anonymity settled low and quick, turning my body liquid as my stride lengthened. I marched across the stage, shoulders back, chin up, and a look I hoped conveyed pleasantness pulling my lips into a smile. I stopped thinking about anything other than making an impression.

A low murmur swept across the room. Faces floated above nondescript bodies, the bright lights causing everything to become dull when I tried to look any further than the front row. I tipped my head and batted my eyelashes in slow sweeps, thenbrushed my hands across my thighs, causing the dress to stir over my legs.

Movement to my left snagged my attention. A slow turn in that direction brought three men into my line of sight. They were tucked into an alcove where the lights failed to reach, creating pockets of shadows for the men to lurk. I had the impression of broad shoulders on one, but it was the sharp gray eyes that stood out amid miles of black landscape that held my gaze.

The man in the middle, the one with the intense gray eyes, whispered to the man on his left. My knees threatened to quake, so I drove my heels into the stage and spun around, flaunting my golden waves and showing off my back. The dress cut deep in the front, but the back was the showstopper. The plunging lines revealed my entire spine, all the way to the cut of my thong. I shimmied my hips and let my natural stride turn languid. The sense of overwhelm ebbed away, and for a split second, I enjoyed having all eyes locked on me. I skimmed my hands over my nipples, the peaks evident through the thin satin, and pulled my lower lip between my teeth.

A man in the front row shouted a number, followed by another man to my right.

My pulse spiked. They were bidding. A sense of purpose swept through me. I winked at the man in the front, and he tossed out a higher number, beating out his competitor.

A low, dark voice sliced through the air with a decisive firmness that sent heat stampeding through my body.

I’d heard the bidding on a few of the other women, and none of them had caused this level of chaos. I turned to face the delicious voice and found Mr. Gray Eyes smirking at me. He angled his head toward the man on his left. Blond hair swept across his forehead. Even sitting didn’t hide the sheer size of him. Muscles bunched and twisted beneath a black shirt, hisbroad shoulders taking up two seats and forcing him to lean across to speak to the man.

Another sat on the right, blue eyes locked onto me, his gaze possessive despite the distance. He nodded at the man in the middle and held up two fingers.

Numbers flew back and forth around the room, a bidding war in full swing. For me. It was a heady, intoxicating feeling. Every time a new number was thrown out, I thanked the bidder by blowing them a kiss.

“Fifty thousand.” Mr. Gray Eyes raised his hand, holding up five fingers.

A chill swept through the room, silence thundering in the clap of my heartbeat.

Fifty thousand dollars for one night with me? Stunned, I stopped moving. My hands dropped to my sides, and I barely kept the gleefully shocked laugh in check.

“Anyone else?” The man at the lectern waited a span of heartbeats. His eyebrows were in his hairline, warning me that the number he’d heard wasnotnormal. Of course it wasn’t normal. It was three times what I’d heard anyone else mention.

Someone coughed, the sound full of surprise and disappointment. The man I’d winked at in the front row shifted around to look at the man who’d offered such an exorbitant amount. His face paled and he snapped back around, avoiding looking at me even when I took another turn around the stage.

I didn’t know what else to do, but the sudden turn of events that had threatened to melt me into a puddle now gave me strength. He wanted me. He wanted me enough to throw down fifty grand. It was enough money to pay my rent, buy a car, and put some aside for those unexpected expenses that always popped up.

“Bidding ended.” The man slashed both hands through the air, and the pin-striped woman walked me off stage.

“What just happened?” I asked her.

A wide smile bloomed, and she laughed gently. “Oh, honey. You’re about to have the night of your life. Right this way.” She led me through the curtain on the opposite side of the stage and into a blacked-out corridor. Single bulbs led the way, the soft glow of each one brightening a few steps along the hall while leaving the rest wreathed in shadows. My entire body shook as the adrenaline wore off and worry set in.

I’d done it. I’d successfully gained a bid. Not just any bid, either, but one that secured my future for months. And now… I gulped down the reality as a door opened ahead of me and I was shown into a lavish room draped in silks. A large four-poster bed sat in the corner, the burgundy sheets pulled back and a line of products marching down the length of a side table. I caught a glimpse of my reflection with the bed behind me in an oval mirror on the far side of the room, and the reality of what I’d done crashed over me.

2

VIKTOR

This wasn't the first time I’d bid on a woman with Ilya and Fyodor, but it was the first time we’d pooled that much money for one woman. Foronenight with a woman. I walked at the head of our trio, Ilya at my left, Fyodor at my right, just out of sight in my peripheral vision.

“I have not seen a woman so beautiful.” Ilya spoke up, his voice matching our pace.

Fyodor made a grunting huff sound that echoed down the corridor. “It has been a while since we shared a woman.”

“Ha.” Ilya shuffled his feet, and the sound of his broad palm slapping Fyodor’s back pushed Fyodor forward. “It has been a while since you had a woman at all.”

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